Decatur Presbyterian Church is in the business of developing worship leaders. The church in Decatur, Alabama, is in its third year of offering summer internships for training musicians to lead worship, but the program is modeled on an unlikely source: surgical residency.
The program’s architect, George Godwin, is an ear, nose, and throat surgeon who has served as a bi-vocational worship leader since college. During his surgical residency, Godwin and fellow residents worked together at the hospital, attended classes together, read about surgery, watched and participated in procedures, and discussed the experiences together. Attending surgeons guided and mentored residents, too.
“We’ve got the attending [surgeons] that mentor us, and we’re developing these long-term relationships. I’ve got relationships with my resident class, even today,” Godwin, now 65, said.
His years of ministry inspired him to imagine another use for this model. Godwin realized the need for bi-vocational worship leaders, particularly in the PCA, where smaller churches can’t afford a full-time music staff member.
He saw that college students had a unique window of opportunity while they are still being shaped by their academic studies and have flexible summers. He envisioned a program that would leverage the best practices of surgical residency to equip bi-vocational worship leaders.
“Why not try something like this with worship leader training? More of a hands-on collaborative, bring some folks together, create some relationships that would last basically for a lifetime over worship training,” Godwin said.
Thus the Ezra Worship Initiative was born, named for another bi-vocational worship leader of biblical fame. According to the Ezra Initiative website, the prophet Ezra was an Israelite scribe and priest who was also trained in the law and given civil authority by King Artexerxes. The initiative’s goal is to train worship leaders who, like Ezra, are “knowledgeable, trustworthy and bi-vocational.”
During the summer, the interns take classes at Birmingham Theological Seminary and earn a certificate of worship ministry.They also receive housing and a stipend.
Decatur Presbyterian’s worship style is a mixture of traditional hymns, new hymns (like those by the Gettys and City Alight,) old hymn texts with new music (like Indelible Grace), and contemporary Christian songs. Rather than teach the interns to mimic Decatur’s style, the program aims instead to teach them transferrable principles that could be relevant at churches of all different worship styles.
The four pillars of the program are worship theology, sound and technology, musicianship, and songwriting. The program is structured to build close connections between interns in hopes that the relationships will continue after the summer ends.
“It’s amazing to see them living together and studying the Word together and writing together and supporting each other and leading worship together. It’s a bit of a transformation for these students,” Godwin said.
The interns create a songwriting collective while they are enrolled in the program. Godwin wants the groups to cultivate “musical and lyrical creativity” in Reformed worship.
In a testimonial video on the Ezra Worship Initiative website, Jack Lyons described the Ezra Worship Initiative as “an internship, but it’s also a well of knowledge waiting to just be poured out on people my age that are just thirsty for it.”
A highlight of their songwriting studies is a trip to Nashville in which the interns learn from established artists in the industry like Sandra McCracken and Meredith Andrews. They record and release the songs on streaming platforms in hopes that their work will not just bless listeners, but that some churches may want to add it to their congregational repertoire.
Another highlight of the summer is a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. The intern teams have helped to build a K-12 school, a hospital, and a church. The trip also gives the group the hands-on experience of leading worship.
At the end of the summer, the students receive feedback on their strengths and weaknesses, discussing their calling and Christian ministry. Of those who have matriculated, several are working in churches putting their experience to use.
“It just works really well because you’re learning worship in the context of the congregation,” Godwin said.
After his internship, Lyons served at a church in Troy, Alabama, which he described as small, but “close-knit.” He admitted the worship style of the church wasn’t what he’s used to, but still theologically rich, and he “learned so much from just being there.”
Lyons also used his musical gifts while serving overseas with Mission to the World for two summers. He helped to lead worship at a church in Tokyo along with his work at a creative arts center.
Blair Dickson, a 2022 intern, appreciated the training in theology, musicianship, leadership, and technology. But the experience strengthened her faith, too.
“Beyond all of the training, God drew me nearer to Him and made me fall more in love with the gospel,” she said in a testimonial on the Ezra Worship Initiative website. “He grew not only my knowledge but also my desire for Him and His word.”
Applications for summer 2025 internships opened November 4. While Decatur Presbyterian is eager to welcome more interns and expand the program, Godwin hopes that other churches will be inspired to create campuses of the Ezra Worship Initiative in their congregations.
In the current model, Decatur pays the intern’s salaries, and the other expenses come from donations. Every church will have different financial considerations in their approach, but once a funding strategy is in place, Godwin believes the program itself is easily replicable and transferable.
“We’ve got the blueprint, and we think we have the curriculum,” Godwin says.
“I walked away from Ezra with such a rich theology of worship, and I’ve left with a sense of leadership and a love for leading people into worship,” Lyons said.
For more information on Ezra Worship Initiative, visit https://www.ezraworship.com.
Erin Jones is a byFaith contributing writer.